Behind The Scenes
by SilvCyanide
Summary: The crowd goes wild over the newest up-and-coming star of the big screen, a mysterious actor known only as KID. KID's identity is concealed in the shadows and their many personas are as impressive as their acting. What happens when this fledgling actor meets a professional detective with a fondness for their movies? Love, that's what. Although...
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own DCMK

 **Pairings:** KaiShin/ShinKai (KaitoXShinichi) Yaoi/Shonen-ai, Platonic!HakuKai

 **Notes:** What was I thinking when I wrote this? I don't even know. Also, there will be a poll up on my profile for upcoming stories, please vote for what you want to see. Shoutout to Luna Darkside if she ever sees this, I read her fic 'Money, Notoriety, and Rivieras' and got inspired.

 **Warnings:** Badly written news articles, almost no knowledge of what happens at award shows and conventions as well as general ignorance. Be warned.

 **Summary:** The crowd goes wild over the newest up-and-coming star of the big screen, a mysterious actor known only as KID. KID's identity is concealed in the shadows and their many personas are as impressive as their acting. What happens when this fledgling actor meets a professional detective with a fondness for their movies? Love, that's what. Although, it may be a problem when one of them turns out to be blind…

 **X**

 _ **HOLLYWOOD ROOKIE KID NOMINATED FOR ACADEMY AWARDS?**_

 _by: Reiss Hudson | January 22_

 _Everybody knows about the highly talented actor or actress (See:_ _KID's Identity, Who Is This Person?_ _) KID who has seemingly appeared from nowhere on the big screen and went on to win their very first Golden Globe that same year. The relative rookie has stolen the breath -and hearts- of many young girls and boys and has gained a considerable fanbase through their debut work 'Case Files: Criminal 1412' where he was casted as the main lead of the film, the high-profile jewel thief, Criminal 1412. Other popular works include the recently released 'Once Upon A Full Moon' and the modern rendition of the popular classic 'The Extraordinary Adventures Of Arsene Lupin: Gentleman Burglar'._

 _Recently, the results of nominations for this year's Academy Awards has been released and surprisingly (or unsurprisingly), KID has made it into the list of Oscar nominees. Rumor has it that…_

 _ **Click here to read more**_

 **X**

Kaito picked at the fraying threads of his coat, shifting uncomfortably on two-inch heels. Yes, heels. He grimaced and tugged at the way too fluffy skirt and adjusted the masquerade mask pressing sharply and uncomfortably against the bridge of his nose. A grimace seemed to be permanently engraved on his face and he unwrapped a piece of gum, popping it into his mouth in an attempt to distract himself from his nerves. The tapping of footsteps sounded out from behind him and he heard the door to his hotel room in opening and closing quietly with a click. He tilted his head and let out an agonized groan before turning around.

"Hakuba!"

"Kuroba, what are you still doing here? The chartered limousine is already waiting for you by the curb and you need to be out there and in the car in fifteen minutes. You need to be on the red carpet in two hours and even though I'm your manager, I can't do everything for you. Don't give me that 'but I'm blind!' excuse either to try and justify your slowness, both you and I know that you are perfectly capable of getting around on your own."

Kaito rubbed his palms on his dress in distress, scrunching his eyes shut even further even as he emitted a low, panicked whine and seemingly shrunk into himself.

"But Hakubaaaaa! I can't do this, it's the freaking Oscars, not VidCon! What if I mess up or trip or _something_? Oh God what if I trip? Why do I need to wear this dress and this mask? There's really no reason for me to hide my identity is there?"

Hakuba's eyes softened though he knew Kaito couldn't see it. He breathed out a weary sigh and strode forward to put a hand on Kaito's shoulder and steering him out of his room, adjusting the wig on Kaito's head so that it flowed properly down his shoulders.

"You know the reason why, it's all for publicity. A versatile actor who can emulate any character, whose identity is hidden and one that nobody knows about. Of course everyone is going to go crazy. Just breathe, you're a good actor, you know that since high school that you've a flair for performing, you can do this."

Kaito felt a surprised expression slip on his face even as he was steered into the limousine, it wasn't everyday that Hakuba spoke such comforting words, he must've seemed more nervous than he thought. A smile played on the edges of his lips. It was a testament to how far their friendship had come, they had gone from a bitter rivalry to tentative friendship and now friend for life.

The ride was brief but comfortable and Kaito sipped at a glass of cider -he had never really liked alcoholic drinks after all, and he was barely legal to drink anyway- as he relaxed against the leather seats and felt himself be lulled into a daze by the smooth sway of the car. The music was a soft jazz and he felt his nerves uncoiling. Faint clicking sounds came from his right and he deciphered that to be the sound of Hakuba tapping on his phone. It was reassuring and familiar even from way back in college when Hakuba had offered him a ride home in his car.

The car pulled up outside the Hollywood Dolby Theater to the cheers of those who were lucky enough to score a seat in the bleachers. As he stepped out of the car, hand clasped on Hakuba's arm with Hakuba surreptitiously nudging him in the right direction. Usually Kaito would rely on his hearing and cane to travel around but the loud noises and KID supposedly not being blind basically ruled that out, the only way he would be able to move around was to rely on Hakuba's aid.

The roars erupted when the fans caught sight of KID's trademark mask and Kaito felt his fear draining from him. Instantly he straightened his body, plastered an enigmatic(ugh) smile on his face and walked forward confidently down the famous red carpet. Hakuba constantly whispered to him subtly of the situation and he turned his head to face the cameras according to Hakuba's directions. His feet were aching and he would be more than eager to reach his seat.

 **X**

Exhaling a sigh of relief, Kaito separated from Hakuba at the seats after a brief instruction -"Stage is 7 steps to the left of your seat, 16 steps down the aisle and up five stairs of height 20cm each."- and plopped down in his seat in the second row, close to the aisle. Beside him, the chattering of celebrities and famous stars filtered into his ears and he drummed his fingers on the arm rest. Several people tried to strike up a conversation with the mysterious KID, wanting to pry his identity or private information from him. Kaito scoffed inwardly but forced an amiable smile onto his face and drawing on his well honed skills of manipulation to redirect the conversation from the more confidential topics.

 **X**

Oh my God.

 _Oh my God._

He had _not_ just been called to receive an Oscar.

Kaito inhaled sharply and pressed his hands to his mouth, the red lipstick liberally spread over his lips rubbing off slightly on his hands. Claps resounded as he wobbled his way onto the stage, feeling like the stars had come down and showered their grace and holiness upon him because _ohwowwhatthiscan'tbehappeningcanit?_ He grinned, large and bright and sharp and distinctly Kaito though they wouldn't know who Kuroba Kaito was. The announcers congratulated him and the instant that his fingers grazed over the cool metal of the statue was absolutely wonderful.

He clutched the microphone between shaking fingers and felt a breath shakily leave his lungs. Once upon a time, he had thought that being a world famous magician would be the best thing to happen but right now he couldn't imagine any better feeling. Clearing his throat, he mentally readied himself before pitching his voice into a distinctly feminine one and recited the speech that he never thought he would ever be able to say.

 **X**

Shinichi stepped into his house from his quick trip to the nearby cafe to grab dinner and a coffee before the Oscars began. Leaving his keys on the side table, he settled the plastic bag of food and the coffee on his coffee table and unwound his scarf, flinging it over the back of his couch, flicking on the television and settling himself comfortably into an armchair before switching the channel to the Oscars. Normally he wouldn't watch award shows but KID was one of the nominees and he sort of maybe really liked the person. He clutched a large takeout cup of coffee -black, no sugar, no cream- in his hands and watched the screen raptly.

It was no secret among his friends that he was a mild, sort of, really big fangirl

(or rather fanboy) of KID. It was really odd, usually he was a calm and stoic young detective of twenty eight years, logical and rational but ever since he had watched 'Case Files: Criminal 1412' and discovered the actor/tress. Their acting had enraptured him from the first scene, the passion that KID put into his acting showed that they were someone who really loved their job and made all effort to really become the character. It was mesmerizing.

Okay that was creepy.

His eyes zeroed in on KID's thin figure and he leaned forward as they walked up the stage -was it just him or did KID look like they didn't know where to go?- and accepted the statuette. Their speech showed their humility -that was another thing that Shinichi really liked about the person, they weren't arrogant or snobbish like many other actors and actresses- and their emotions were palpable, disbelief and ecstasy was visible in the set of their shoulders and the tremble in their fingers. Shinichi cheered inwardly, they deserved the award, their acting was moving and beautiful.

As KID stepped off the stage, he settled back into the squishy backing of his chair and mused, even as the next winner went on stage.

 _Who exactly is KID?_

 **X**

Kaito heaved a sigh of relief as he stepped off the plane, the incoming rush of Japanese swamping him, a welcome change after weeks of rapid fire English in America. He tapped the cane lightly along his path, eyes concealed behind a pair of dark sunglasses and heard shuffling as people moved out of his way to give him an easier path to walk, multiple airport workers approaching him and asking if he needed help. Those offers he declined, having previously already received directions from Hakuba on the exact route to take. Combined with a few directions here and there from random strangers, he managed to make his way to the taxi stand. Hakuba was still in America settling final issues and had told Kaito to head back to Japan first and take a well-deserved break for the next few weeks before he had to fly off to Britain to a film site at the Big Ben. Kaito's suitcases would be brought back to Japan by Hakuba the next day or so and that made Kaito's job much easier without having to worry about picking up his suitcase. He didn't really appreciate being treated as a useless person though and he grimaced at the memory of their conversation.

 _Kaito settled himself on the edge of his bed, rubbing off the makeup on his face and yanking off the latex mask, exposing his real and very much masculine face to the air for the first time in hours. He picked off the leftover pieces of spirit gum stuck to his face and felt along the wall for the toilet light switch, clothes gathered in his arms as he entered the bathroom, shut the door and enjoyed a well deserved shower. Upon exiting, he sensed the presence of another person in his room and tensed before relaxing once he realised that it was only Hakuba._

" _Kuroba, you will be going back to Japan first."_

" _I know, Hakuba."_

" _I will be heading back later after settling some matters first. I'll bring your suitcase to your house when I return so you don't have to worry about that."_

" _What?! Hakuba, let me do it myself, I'm not an invalid!"_

" _No, you're not, but you are blind and no matter how capable you are, it's still going to be difficult even for you."_

" _But-"_

" _No, Kuroba."_

 _Huffing, Kaito flung himself onto his bed in a fit of childishness that Hakuba would call 'unbefitting of a twenty eight year old actor' and pouted. He recognised from Hakuba's tone of voice that it wouldn't really do him much good to argue and acquiesced._

Kaito reluctantly requested someone to help him hail a taxi and shuffled in, the kindly middle-aged man helpfully shutting the door behind him and he rattled off his address to the taxi driver, soothed by the hum of the engines as the taxi drove off.

He paid and stepped out of the taxi, overwhelmed slightly by vertigo and stumbling up to his apartment block. He felt around for the elevator buttons in the lobby, fingers tracing over the braille script imprinted on the button and finding the right one. The door chimed open and he stepped in, pressing the button for the fifth floor and humming to himself as he hoisted the bag higher on his shoulders and felt around for his keys before finally finding them and unlocking his front door. He flung the bag on his couch and exited his house with a bounce to his step. He was in need of mocha and dango.

Strolling down the street, he relished in the crisp morning air and the complete lack of fangirls assaulting him or trying to steal his shirt (that had been a rather frightening experience). If there was anything good about his identity being withheld from the public, it would be that nobody recognised him as KID and he was able to walk down the street unharassed. Nobody would bother you if you weren't anybody worth bothering afterall.

His cane click-clacked rhythmically along the pavement and he felt the stress of travelling melt from his bones. He was nearing the cafe that he absolutely loved and hastened his footsteps, eager to get there. All of a sudden, he crashed heavily into a solid object which stumbled backwards and he tumbled heavily to the ground. His cane flew out of his hand and he let out a cry of shock, barely aware of the startled gasp coming from whoever he had bumped into.

His eyes flew open when he realised that his sunglasses had flown off his face and lay cracked on the floor, completely unusable. Sighing deeply, he patted the floor for his cane and starting when someone tapped his shoulder and place the cane in his lap. A voice sounded out from somewhere in front of and above him and he reflexively looked up, nose bumping into a warm hand.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! Do you need help?"

 **X**

Shinichi was having a bad day.

Besides being suffocated and buried to his neck in casework, he woke up with an ache in his neck and a crick in his back that just _wouldn't go away_. He had fumbled around for a few minutes before staggering into his kitchen and finding out that he had run out of coffee. Perfect.

He shrugged on a coat and collected his keys, wallet and phone, determined to get his coffee even if he had to go outside of his warm and comfortable home to do so.

The sun was shining brightly though it was terribly cold and Shinichi found himself shivering even with his coat. There were people milling around, enjoying the day and he spotted his neighbour with his crazy inventions and waved. Hurrying down the street, he spied the cafe from a distance and sighed in relief. Preoccupied as he was, he failed to notice someone walking in the same direction as he was and crashed into them, sending the person flying to the floor, cane clattering a few meters away.

 _Oh, he's blind_.

Shinichi blinked in surprise before flushing slightly at having caused a blind man to fall down due to his own inattentiveness. The man's eyes flew open and Shinichi was assaulted by unfocused amethyst, glimmering bright in the sunlight. He soon realised that it was because the man's sunglasses had fallen to the ground and was broken by the impact. Wincing slightly, Shinichi placed the cane in the man's grasping hands as a sort of apology before holding out his hand and inquiring if the man needed help.

The man was silent for a moment before he reached out and took the offered hand, being yanked up by Shinichi and leaning slightly against the cane. Shinichi tried to convey as much sheepish guilt in his voice as possible as he apologised to the stranger. What he had not expected was for the stranger to chuckle and wave it off.

"Don't worry about it, nice to meet you, my name is Kaito."

"Shinichi, nice to meet you too."

 **X**

 **A/N: Argh, not my best work but I tried. I'm not sure when the next chapter's gonna be up but it's sometime soon. I should really stop starting new stories without finishing my old ones…**

 **Please review, and if you liked it, favourite and follow! Don't forget to vote in the poll! Thanks!**

 **Have a nice day!**

 **-SilvCyanide**


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes:** Hmmm, I wasn't going to write this since I wrote the first chapter 10 hours ago and I feel exhausted right now with a total of 0 hours of sleep buuuuuut, inspiration knocked and I answered. Introducing, a new element to the chapters, quote of the chapter!

 **Quote Of The Chapter:** '"I wanted to prove to them that I could and so... I did."'

 **X**

Shinichi observed the young man, feeling a sense of something _off_ about the man, although he didn't know what it was. Kaito seemed so very familiar but that couldn't possibly be the case, they had never met before that day and he would certainly remember meeting a blind man with such startling indigo eyes. Before he knew what he was doing, Shinichi found himself asking if Kaito would like to join him for coffee and lunch, since he _wanted to apologise for knocking him down_ and _would he be interested in getting to know each other._

Kaito deliberated visibly, a series of emotions flickering across his face, most noticeably hesitance. Finally, he looked up(rather he just tilted his head up in Shinichi's general direction) and gave a small smile and agreed. Kaito reached up a hand and brushed his hair away from his face, flattening the hair that stuck up from the collision. Shinichi was suddenly struck by how much Kaito looked like him.

 _Huh, that's either coincidence or some odd luck._

He pushed the door open and held it for Kaito, the latter cautiously walking into the obviously crowded cafe with the cane waving in front of him, other arm outstretched to try and feel his way over. Shinichi was suddenly struck by how utterly _adorable_ Kaito looked at that moment and promptly dusted the thought from his memory. What was wrong with him that day? He had only known Kaito for less than two minutes!

Shinichi grabbed the other man's arm and yanked him out of the way of a waiter, watching in slight amusement but also mildly concerned as Kaito jerked at the sudden contact and pulling off a successful wide-eyed, cat-caught-in-the-rain expression on his face despite not having his eyes open.

"Be careful, the cafe is really crowded. You nearly got run over."

Kaito grinned sheepishly, managing to look both sorry and not at the same time. Shinichi spotted a couple vacating a booth and guided Kaito over, making sure to help him avoid the mess of people and finally reaching the empty booth. A waiter came over shortly and passed the both of them menus before double taking when he noticed that Kaito was blind. He hesitated over whether to ask if Kaito needed help when Kaito, seemingly having read his mind, smiled at him and asked him for a cup of mocha and a BLT sandwich. The waiter looked relieved and took down the order before leaving to place the order. Shinichi flipped through the menu in his hand and decided on a simple black coffee and a slice of lemon pie, waving the same waiter over and placing his order before turning to Kaito.

"Sorry again for knocking you over, I wasn't watching where I was going."

Kaito shook his hand at Shinichi, wearing a dismissive expression before a wide smile broke out on his face.

"It's alright! Don't worry about it. I was distracted too, it was partly my fault. My full name is Kuroba Kaito, and I'm an amateur actor who acted as an extra in a few movies and dabbles in magic tricks. "

Shinichi blinked in slight surprise when he heard that Kaito was an actor and stared disbelievingly at him before he remembered that Kaito couldn't see him. He scratched his head and thought slightly before replying,

"Kudo Shinichi, I'm a detective, I work for the TMPD as a consultant. They usually go to me for cases that they can't solve."

They were interrupted by the waiter bringing over their orders and their conversation was halted as they tucked into their meals. When their plates were cleared, Shinichi was clutching his coffee and staring at Kaito, seemingly hesitant and deliberating within himself. Opening his mouth, he slowly voiced out his question.

"I apologise if I offend you but I'm curious, why did you choose to become an actor? I can't imagine that it would be easy on you to act when you're blind."

Kaito was silent and he ran a hand through his hair, making bits and pieces of hair stick up here and there. He nibbled on his lip, clearly uncomfortable and Shinichi wanted to take back his words when Kaito started speaking.

"When I was young, many of the kids in my neighbourhood would speak of being actors, policemen, engineers and all that. They also used to dislike me because I was blind and not that good at sports or games that included any physical activity really. I always loved to listen to the movies and imagine what they were doing and I really wanted to be one of those actors on the set and acting. Whenever I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up and I answered, actor, the person who asked me would get this condescending and pitying tone to their voice. Even my teachers would tell me that it wasn't possible for blind people to be actors."

"They expected that it would dissuade me, how they always told me that I couldn't be an actor in the most blunt of ways but it didn't, it made me even more determined to accomplish that dream. When I started going for auditions and acting in small plays, they would scoff and tell me that I had no chance. Only my parents believed in me and eventually, I did become an actor. I wanted to prove to them that I could and so… I did."

Shinichi was stunned, he hadn't expected such a passion-filled and honest response from Kaito who seemed to be a relatively easygoing and cheerful person and he didn't know what to say. Kaito blushed when he realised that he had essentially been rambling and groped around for the handle of his cup, picking it up and taking a sip to hide his face from the detective.

Shinichi grinned and was just about to say something when his phone beeped and he glanced at it to see a panicked message from Takagi _-keiji_ about a murder that nobody could make heads or tails of and sighed, pocketing his phone before pushing his chair back and standing up. Kaito turned his face in Shinichi's direction and realised that the man was probably busy with his work and needed to leave. Shinichi glanced at Kaito before pulling out his cellphone again.

"It was nice meeting you Kuroba-san, do you think we could go out for lunch or something again?"

Kaito smiled mischievously, as if he knew what Shinichi was going to ask. He unlocked his phone and tapped the bottom left of the screen before swiping once to the right and then tapping twice, bringing up the phone app. He passed it over to Shinichi who got the message and entered his number before handing it back.

"It's saved under Kudo Shinichi."

Kaito nodded before murmuring his phone number to Shinichi who saved it on his phone and bid Shinichi goodbye as Shinichi rushed out of the cafe, tapping his cane on the ground slightly as he sipped on the now cold cup of coffee. Kudo Shinichi… it was a very familiar name, didn't the news mention some young genius detective who was also called Kudo Shinichi?

Kaito propped his cheek on one hand, a troubled look on his face. If Kudo Shinichi was as good a detective as they claimed, would he be able to deduce that he and KID were one and the same? After all, he had dropped quite the large hint by saying that he was an actor and he didn't bother to change his mannerisms when in disguise. That thought was troubling. His production company - and Hakuba - would flip if they knew that he had let slip such details to a detective, part of KID's allure was his mystery and shadowed identity after all.

Ah well, he'd cross that bridge when he got to it, no point worrying about it now.

 **X**

Over the next few months, with the exception of when Kaito was out filming in other countries -The sequel of 'Case Files: Criminal 1412' had just finished filming and just like before, he was the lead actor, how fun!- and Shinichi was off on cases that lasted a few days, the two of them often met up to just have a meal or watch a movie and Kaito was beginning to think of Shinichi as one of his closest friends - hah, how sad was that? Someone who he knew for just a couple of months was one of his closest friends - and looked forward to every outing with him. His fear of being found out had eased with time and now the thought was shoved into the back of his mind to collect dust, more of his outgoing and bubbly personality emerging.

Shinichi on the other hand, had felt the sense of missing something growing over time, whenever he looked at Kaito, he felt like there was a large part of Kaito he was just not seeing. Something about Kaito made him feel like he had known Kaito even before he saw him. It reminded him much about somebody and that thought was unsettling that he could not remember who. It wasn't until they went to watch the newly released, 'Case Files: Silver Bullet' that he was hit with the realisation like a sledgehammer over the head.

 **X**

Shinichi glanced at Kaito worriedly as Kaito chewed on popcorn every few seconds, continuously tapped his feet on the carpeted floor and generally acted uncharacteristically anxious. They were currently seated in the cinema theater and watching KID's latest movie, 'Case Files: Silver Bullet'. In this movie, the audience got a glimpse of Criminal 1412's life and the unveiling of the detective dedicated to capturing him, codenamed 'Silver Bullet'. Shinichi was exceptionally excited for it since, well, it was KID and it had received high ratings from all those who had watched it when it came out four days ago. Shinichi had wanted to go on opening weekend when it first aired but somehow Kaito was always _coincidentally_ too busy to go. It struck Shinichi then how Kaito had become such an integral part of his life that he couldn't even consider going to a simple thing like the movies without Kaito - Ran teasingly called him 'in love' though Shinichi refused to even acknowledge that thought - and it brought a smile to his face.

Kaito, on the other hand, was extremely nervous and not at all looking forward to the movie. During the filming, he had allowed his true personality to show while acting so the person on screen was essentially Kaito with a different face. With the public knowledge that KID constantly changed faces, it wasn't too far of a stretch for a good detective to deduce he was KID from these few simple facts, and if he found out anything at all about Shinichi, it was that Shinichi was more than just a _good_ detective. He resigned himself to potentially reveal his identity - a traitorous part of him felt extremely happy that Shinichi loved his movies - and settled back to watch (or rather, listen) to the film.

 **X**

As expected, it was good, and the audience was chattering about it as they left the cinema. Shinichi looked concernedly at Kaito, Kaito had become quieter as the movie played on and now he was hardly speaking a word, choosing only to shuffle behind him with the cane outstretched and large sunglasses obscuring half his face and making his expression essentially unreadable.

"Kaito, what is going on with you recently?"

Shinichi couldn't take the silence and sheer _unnaturalness_ anymore and burst out with the question, wincing slightly when he realised that his needlessly loud outburst had startled Kaito until he nearly tripped and drew the attention of nearby passersby. He also belatedly realised the rudeness and bluntness of the question and hastily backtracked when he saw the panicked look flashing across Kaito's face. Kaito murmured a stilted _nothing_ and carried on walking, hands moving automatically as they flashed through a series of magic tricks, something Shinichi noticed he did when he was thinking and when he was nervous. Today, however, he seemed especially out of sorts and Shinichi saw _it_. Kaito's hands performed another trick, this time with cards but it was different, this was a trick Shinichi had never seen him do before and had only ever seen one other person do it, coincidentally on this very same day. The famous actor, KID.

Shinichi inhaled a deep breath. Well this was interesting, Kaito couldn't have seen what tricks KID was doing since he couldn't, well, _see_ and the only way he could have learnt the trick was through someone painstakingly guiding his hands and teaching him. Granted it didn't stand for much since Shinichi hadn't gone to many magic shows and for all he knew it could be a very common trick but why would Kaito go to the trouble of keeping it hidden from Shinichi if it didn't have any significance?

Something was fishy here and Shinichi was going to get to the bottom of it.

 **X**

 **A/N: Wooo! Awkward cutting off and awkward chapter as a whole. I surprised myself for writing this as early as I did as I have a** _ **serious**_ **procrastination problem and well, meh. I must really like this story then. As always, please review and favourite + follow if you've enjoyed the story. Thanks! Also, the author's note at the top? If you were wondering, I started the chapter yesterday and frankly I'm too lazy to change so there you go.**

 **Have a nice day!**

 **-SilvCyanide**


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes:** Mmm, well I really like this story apparently and my brain really pours with ideas and I'm writing the third chapter. Cool, you get another chapter so that's good I guess? Unless you really hate this story.

 **Quote Of The Chapter: '** Here they were, sitting in his kitchen on a cold autumn evening spending time together over dinner wearing fluffy, warm sweaters. God, that sounded like a cheesy romance drama.'

 **X**

"Shinichi, can you pass the salt? I can't find it."

Shinichi glanced up to see Kaito adorably bumbling around the kitchen, fingers trailing over practically everything lying on the countertop and rolled his eyes at the mess left behind. He bookmarked his book and set it aside, strolling over to a cupboard and plucking out a salt packet from inside, handing it to Kaito who beamed at him and gingerly ripped it open before making sure that he had his plate in front of him and gently sprinkling a pinch over the yakisoba that was _waaaay too bland_ and _needed more sauce, Shinichi_. He plopped himself back into the chair and picked up his book again while Kaito sat down in the chair across from him with the yakisoba that Shinichi prepared with his barely mediocre cooking skills and a cup of hot chocolate. It struck him then how absolutely domestic the scene looked when he really thought it over. Here they were, sitting in his kitchen on a cold autumn evening spending time together over dinner wearing fluffy, warm sweaters. God, that sounded like a cheesy romance drama.

 _But then again, a cheesy romance drama doesn't sound all that bad._

Shinichi had all but acknowledged that he had a crush on Kaito, spending this much time with someone you really like tended to do that to a person, this was just a little out of the ordinary, that's all.

Shaking his head, Shinichi refocused his attention on Kaito to catch the tail end of what he was saying and started in shock.

"-with you on the plane to New York! Isn't that great?"

"You're going to New York? How come I didn't know about this?"

Kaito rubbed his neck and laughed awkwardly, all of a sudden uncomfortable. His face smoothed out - _his Poker Face was back again wasn't it? Damn it._ \- and he chewed on his bottom lip, mentally deciding on what he was going to say to Shinichi,

"Oh, well, I was scheduled for an emergency position as a supporting character in 'For Tomorrow' since the original actor was in an accident and I just happened to look like him."

He followed that with a semi-awkward laugh that has Shinichi's eyes narrowing and the gears in his head whirring. Kaito was hiding something, if he was simply going to act in a movie as an emergency supporting character, there would be no need for such secrecy and unease. There was also a rumor that KID was going to be in New York, how suspicious… He was slowly solidifying his deduction in his head but some half-baked conclusions and a few circumstantial evidences did not immediately prove his theory right. In front of him, Kaito stood up, his plate polished clean and lips oily with sauce and dumped the dishes in the sink before scrubbing his face clean, the droplets of water soaking his shirt. Shinichi secretly wanted to run his hand through Kaito's hair - it should be illegal how soft it looked - and watch the water droplets go sprinkling into the air.

 _Getting borderline creepy now…_

Kaito stretched, looking very much like a cat when he did so and bid goodnight to Shinichi, clomping up the stairs to where he had his own room in Shinichi's house. It was a really spur of the moment affair when Shinichi had suggested Kaito move in with him, Kaito had been lounging on Shinichi's couch when he had casually mentioned how being here was so much comfortable than being at home since it was always so quiet and lonely at home and Shinichi didn't really think twice before asking Kaito to move in since he had such a large mansion with so many rooms and so few people to live in them. Kaito hadn't really had to consider the offer before he accepted. His manager did throw a fuss though. Shinichi had caught Hakuba whispering furiously to a completely unfazed Kaito and finally gave up after acquiring some sort of assent from Kaito about something that they apparently couldn't let Shinichi know.

Shinichi cut himself off, not wanting to get caught up thinking about quite possibly ridiculous theories the night before he was scheduled to head off for the NYPD. Speaking of which, if Kaito was going to be on the same plane as him and that plane was leaving tomorrow, then what about his luggage? A knock on his door answered his question.

A haggard and tired looking Hakuba was standing on his doorstep when Shinichi opened the door, a black luggage propped up against the door frame and looking about to drop dead on the spot. Hakuba passed the suitcase to Shinichi before tiredly muttering a few words that were halfway incoherent and spun on his heels, stumbling to his car and driving off, albeit a bit unsteadily and Shinichi watched him go worriedly. The man wasn't going to get into an accident right?

"Kudo- _kun_ , this is Kuroba's suitcase, everything he needs for the trip tomorrow is inside. I'll have to trouble you to pass it to him. If you'll excuse me now, I still have a few.. things to be… doing."

Shinichi lugged the heavy suitcase into his living room, marveling at how such a small suitcase could be so heavy and also wondering whatever could Kaito need for a simple filming that caused him to need whatever was making this bag heavy. With not a little bit of effort and not a little bit of swearing, he managed to make it to Kaito's room on the third floor and rapped sharply on the door. The door opened a crack and Kaito's head poked out. Shinichi prodded Kaito on his forehead slightly, smiling when the other let out a startled yelp and bumped the suitcase against Kaito's leg to let him know that Hakuba had brought over his suitcase. Kaito picked it up and murmured a soft _thank you_ before gently closing the door again. With anyone else, Shinichi would have been offended by the blunt dismissal but he understood that Kaito had things that he wanted private and that it wasn't generally in Kaito's personality to be anything but polite (in a mischievous way). He couldn't help wondering what he had behind that door sometimes though, the only times when Shinichi had gone into Kaito's room was to clean up the room and at those times, whatever Kaito had that was private was always neatly packed away with no clues to allude to what he was hiding.

Shrugging the curiosity off with some difficulty, he turned and headed back to the kitchen.

 **X**

"Kaito, we're going to be late for the flight. You can get chocolates when we touchdown in New York."

Kaito pouted at Shinichi before walking out of the candy store, reluctantly leaving the chocolate section - personally, Shinichi was both horrified and in awe, how Kaito could successfully navigate his way to the chocolates section every time when he was honest to God _blind_ seemed destined to be a wonder of the world - and bounding up to match his pace with Shinichi, luggage bouncing and rolling behind him. Out of the corner of his eyes, Shinichi saw an old couple smiling at them and when they walked past them, he heard them whispering about how he and Kaito were such a cute couple and blushed a light pink. Kaito seemingly didn't hear, but upon further analysis, Shinichi could see a light dusting of pink on Kaito's cheeks and his cane tapped a rhythm that was more erratic than usual.

The intercom called for his flight's passengers to begin boarding the flight and Shinichi gently tugged on Kaito's free hand, leading him over to the boarding gate and saving time that would have been wasted if Kaito had to find the route himself.

Fighting the wave of people shuffling for their seats and heaping bags onto the on flight bag compartments, they emerged at their seats which were coincidentally - or maybe not - next to each other. Kaito claimed the aisle and Shinichi took the window seat. They were pleasantly dozing off to the setting sun when a scream raptured the peaceful chaos on the plane and it plunged the plane into complete silence.

"H-he's dead!"

Shinichi sighed and stood up, making his way to where the man lay collapsed and sprawled over the toilet, mouth gaping open and face frozen in a grimace. A trembling woman was standing with a hand on the door handle, looking frightened out of her wits and on the verge of a breakdown.

"Move aside please, I'm a detective."

Shinichi crouched down by the man's side, pulling on the latex gloves that he always had on him and started to poke around. Kaito pulled himself to his feet and slowly made his way towards the toilet as well. He employed his miraculous skill of charisma and the ability to get people to listen to him and follow his instructions to gather up all those who knew the victim or had seen him. Soon, the other passengers were cordoned off by a policeman from New York who recognised Shinichi and also happened to be on the plane. The only people who were left consisted of an absolutely terrified lady who was clutching her handbag, a middle-aged businessman with an irritated look on his face and the lady who found the body.

Shinichi fanned the air above the man's mouth. No almond smell, not cyanide then. No physical signs of the cause of dea - hmm, wait, there was a smattering of spots under his jeans and his long sleeved shirt. Shinichi felt an idea start to form and poked around in the man's jacket, finding a packet of tissues and a bottle of pills. Digging further into the man's clothing, Shinichi dug out a crumpled up chocolate wrapper. It was from the shop that Kaito was pining after just now and the man had evidently just eaten a few if the wrappers inside the bin was any indication. Frowning, he turned towards the suspects, eyes immediately focusing on the lady clutching her hand bag. Her behaviour was so suspicious. Striding over, he asked to see her handbag and watched her visibly jump before very reluctantly handing over the bag. Opening it, he spotted a packet of opened chocolates from the same brand as the wrappers on the floor and a smaller bottle of the same pills tucked away. Muttering to himself, he handed the bag back and went to question the man and other woman. Finding nothing suspicious about them - even their alibis were waterproof - he then turned his attention back to the first woman.

There's something missing, Shinichi found himself thinking and squatted back beside the body again. picking up one of the scattered wrappers, his eyes darted over the list of ingredients and zeroed in on a certain ingredient.

 _Peanuts…_

Of course! The man was allergic to peanuts and had been exposed to it rather recently and for quite a while, at least a day but in small dosages. The packet of tissue in the man's pocket and the way he was wrapped up tightly in warm clothing that was not suited for New York suggested that he had thought the allergic reaction to peanuts was actually a flu or a cold. That meant that since he evidently wouldn't have willingly ingested peanuts, no matter how many since he knew that he had an allergic reaction to peanuts by the epinephrine shot that he unearthed from an inside pocket, it could only be someone who was close to him. That ruled out the woman who found him since she did not have any relations to him.

It was the other woman. She was holding all of the main pieces and was acting fidget. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kaito pay special attention to the what she was doing, evident by the head tilted to the side and the slight tension in his shoulders. Kaito usually never showed his tension nor paid special attention to someone unless they really gave him a bad feeling, and Kaito's intuition was usually spot on. Shinichi had the method in which she committed the crime but he was missing a vital piece of information though, the motive

His eyes widened as the reason hit him all at once and he smirked, the smirk that said he knew who was the culprit was and the culprit was going to be unveiled if all else went right. He walked over to the woman and requested for the bag again, noting the way the woman seem more and more like a cornered animal. He rifled through it and plucked out two passports plus the woman's purse, flipping through them and felt his grin grow wider as he received the proof he needed.

"I know who the culprit is…"

The passengers all turned to stare at Shinichi and the air was fraught with tension. Shinichi turned to face the woman and raised up his hand, pointing dramatically at her.

"The culprit is you!"

 **X**

 **A/N:** **I will be honest, I wrote a crappy/10 murder case but hey, it should be taken as a good thing. I won't cause any unsolvable murders. It's probably really obvious how he was killed and the next chapter will almost definitely be up tomorrow, it will contain the conclusion to the murder. The story's ending soon, only two more chapters plus an epilogue. Stay tuned! As always, please review and favourite + follow. Thanks!**

 **Have a nice day!**

 **-SilvCyanide**


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes:** This is a really late chapter, I just didn't feel up to writing yesterday so you're getting this chapter today. Blergh I feel so tired.

 **Quote Of The Chapter:** ' _allow me to personally invite you to the unmasking of KID'_

 **X**

" _The culprit is you!"_

Upon those words, there were mixed reactions. Some of the passengers looked fearful and disgusted, backing away from the woman who looked nervous and tensed, faintly reminding Shinichi of a cornered animal. Kaito had a look of absolute disdain on his face, conveying as much disapproval and rage as a blind man leaning on a cane could.

"W-what?! You have no proof! Where is your evidence?"

The woman frantically denied the claim, snarling slightly as she screamed at Shinichi. It was so evident even without evidence, the woman had basically given herself away. She had a terrible poker face, Shinichi mused, definitely tens of times worse than Kaito when Kaito was severely bothered by something but didn't want Shinichi to know. He took measured steps forward as if fearful of scaring away some timid animal.

"The victim was Yamamura Takeshi, aged 46. You were married to him for 14 years but the two of you haven't had a happy marriage and recently you've been cheating on him haven't you?"

The woman looked severely wronged and shook visibly with fury, whether it was fake or not was to be determined. Shinichi's smirk grew even larger and he was beginning to look somewhat like the Cheshire Cat.

"The evidence that you've been cheating on him and subsequently murdered him is your jewellery and the pills!"

"First, a day or so ago, you began to slip small dosages of the proteins found in peanuts that cause allergic reactions with the knowledge that your husband was severely allergic to them. There was no way that you wouldn't know since you had been married to him for so many years. One of the symptoms of peanut allergy is a runny nose and you tricked him into thinking he was coming down with a flu so he began taking those pills every few hours without knowing that the pills were also laced with the proteins and maintained the allergic reaction. As he had a runny nose, the mucus would block his nose and cover up his taste buds, making him unable to taste anything. While on the plane, your husband complained of blocked ears due to the sudden change in pressure. It would be all too easy to pass a piece of chocolate to him under the excuse of helping the ear block. Since his taste buds were covered, he wouldn't be able to taste the peanuts in the chocolate and would subsequently take a couple more pieces to help with the pressure. Since allergic reactions can begin anywhere from several minutes to several hours after the ingestion of the allergen, it would make sense that a few hours after he ate the candy he began to feel nauseous and got up to use the toilet, thinking he was motion sick. When he went into the toilet however, the nausea turned into a shortness of breath, a tightening of his throat and finally death by asphyxiation."

"You were obviously cheating since if we take a look at your jewellery, they are evidently very carefully cleaned and well-maintained but your wedding ring, on the other hand, is dirty and abused, going by the nicks and scratches on it. You evidently had a very unhappy marriage and yet the inside is shiny. The only way that could possibly happen is if you removed it often but there aren't many reasons why you would have to remove your wedding ring, therefore I deduced that the only possible reason would be if you were seeing someone on the side. As for why you tried to do it, it has something to do with your husband finding out you had been cheating on him..."

"...Isn't that so, Yamamura _-san_ "

Shinichi watched the woman pale until she resembled a bedsheet before her face abruptly filled with colour, displaying prominent terror and fear, sweat positively running down her face in rivulets. She trembled hard in silence before, in a burst of motion, She removed one sharp heel and charged at Shinichi, screaming nonsense and very nearly foaming at the mouth. Shinichi narrowed his eyes and braced himself, grabbing onto the wrist that held onto the blood red heel and pinning the arm behind her back, effectively restraining the woman.

 _Well, there's as good a confession as any…_

The policeman slapped a pair of handcuffs on the woman's wrists and led her to a vacant seat before sitting down beside her to keep an eye on the woman. It didn't seem to be necessary, however, as all the fight seemed to have drained out of her body and she slumped lifelessly into the seat like a ragdoll, eyes staring blankly ahead and seemingly not looking at anything, resigning to her fate. The body was covered with a thin cloth and the toilet closed off, the other passengers returning to their seats but still occasionally sneaking fearful and disbelieving, horrified looks at the toilet door, as if unable to believe that someone died in there.

Shinichi took Kaito by the arm and led him past the mass of people to their seat, sensing that the actor was still very much unnerved and ill at ease with the murder. Kaito had always really disliked murders to the point of hatred, even going so far as to fume silently with anger every time they came across a murder and channelling as much of that anger towards the murderer. It was somewhat odd since usually people wouldn't be _that_ enraged towards a murderer. Anger yes, disgust yes, but rarely hatred. It wasn't unjustified though, his hatred, as Shinichi had shortly learned afterwards, it was because when Kaito was young, his father had been murdered in a sudden shooting by a crazy man who killed the people just because he could and because he enjoyed the thrill. A true psychopath.

Leaning back against his seat, Shinichi watched as Kaito hummed a short tune, a nursery rhyme, and fiddled with a deck of cards. They were halfway to New York and his nearly customary murder-on-airplane had already occurred, might as well get some sleep…

 **X**

"But Kaito, I'm busy…"

"Just this once, Shinichi!"

"I still have cases to handle though, the NYPD has far more cold cases than Japan."

"Those people are already dead and for a long time already, surely they can wait a few hours!"

The last sentence was punctuated by puppy-eyes (minus, y'know, the eyes) and Shinichi felt the last dredges of his resistance crumbling into ash. Darn it, Shinichi was never able to resist Kaito whenever he pulled that face. Sighing deeply, he set aside the manila folder and pen, pushing his chair away from the small one-room flat he was staying in for the period of time he remained in New York and turned towards Kaito who had somehow discovered where Shinichi was staying, got someone to drive him here from wherever he was currently staying in (funnily enough, Kaito wasn't willing to tell him where he had his accommodations. That was suspicious too, in fact, many things were really suspicious about Kaito lately.) and was currently grinning a triumphant smile while he waved his cane in Shinichi's face.

Shinichi nudged it away from his face with a finger and stepped beside Kaito to grab his arm with a practiced motion. It had become a habit after Kaito had nearly lost Shinichi in a crowd one time too many that Shinichi would grab hold of Kaito's upper arm when they were heading out to keep him from getting lost. In fact, the only moments that he didn't grasp Kaito's arm when they were in public was whenever someone died and he had to rush over to the body or when they fought and either of them were still too mad to interact with the other.

It turned out that the one who drove Kaito here was Hakuba who was presently looking extremely peeved and irritated, a glare directed at the seemingly unaware Kaito though Shinichi secretly believed that Kaito knew whenever anybody was talking about him or just anything to do with him in general and that he just preferred to keep quiet about it.

"Kuroba. Just two hours ago I arrived in New York where I found out that you had been asking some of the staff at the set to drive you to Kudo- _san_ 's flat and not fifteen minutes later, I see you running towards me - I regret spending so much time with you that you have memorised my footsteps - and jumping at me to bring you to Kudo- _san_ 's flat. Can you please explain to me why before I throttle you for making me waste my time when I could have been sleeping in my room."

"Nope!"

Kaito replied with a sharp and brilliant grin, like a knife edge and hopped into the car fluidly with an ease that Shinichi was sure no blind person usually had. Hakuba looked ready to burst a blood vessel yelling at Kaito before he seemed to forcefully suppress his anger and muttered under his breath - Shinichi caught the man counting to twenty - with his face slowly losing the red colour of annoyance. Shinichi just shook his head faintly, all too used to Kaito's antics and slid into the seat beside Kaito.

Going to the set where Kaito was filming might prove to be… interesting. Who knows, he might get to see KID as well!

 **X**

The director looked like he had swallowed a sour lemon as he stared at the smiling Kaito, his copy of the script crumpling up in his hand as he tried (and currently failing) not to let his blood pressure rise. Shinichi marveled at Kaito's ability to infuriate people within ten minutes. It only took a few missteps here, a few tricks there and Kaito already had the director ready to scream at him. It was a miracle that he hadn't been fired yet.

Still, it was beautiful to see Kaito act. He really felt like the character, even if it was only a supporting character that hardly spoke any and spent most of his time standing in the corner and listening to the main characters speak, the latex mask to change his features slightly to match the original actor's just making it even more real. He drew people in so thoroughly with clearly intoned speech and expressive body movement, it was surprising that Kaito was just an amateur actor that nobody really knew about and hadn't appeared in any major movies yet. It was almost like his production company was trying to conceal his identity. How interesting.

Shinichi narrowed his eyes and thought hard. Come to think of it, he hadn't seen Kaito in the credits of the movies that Kaito had claimed he acted in, did he? Surely even if he was a small and relatively unknown actor, he would have a fanbase and be credited at the end of the movie but he wasn't and Shinichi had a relatively good idea just what. The only logical explanation would be that Kaito was KID, wasn't it?

It couldn't really be the case though, could it?

 **X**

When Shinichi got back to his flat, it was nearly 1 a.m. at night and he was utterly exhausted. Quickly popping into the bathroom to take a shower, Shinichi could feel the steam relaxing tensed muscles and sighed with contentment. He toweled dry his hair and made himself a cup of coffee before settling himself in front of his table and opening up the file he had abandoned and picking up his pen to restart his work. A knock on his front door startled him, however, and he jerked his head up from where he had been bent over the photo of a woman who was murdered in a particularly grisly manner, nearly knocking over his cup of coffee in the process and stood up, walking towards the door.

Peering out of the peephole, - one could never be too cautious - Shinichi saw… nothing. A spot of white on the floor caught his attention and he opened his door and picked it up. Flipping it over, it turned out to be an envelope with a ticket and a handwritten invitation card.

 _Dear Kudo Shinichi,_

 _It has come to my attention that you are an avid fan of the actor, KID. If that is the case, allow me to personally invite you to the unmasking of KID next Saturday at the convention right here in New York City. Enclosed in this envelope is a ticket to front row seats at said convention. I eagerly await your arrival._

There was no return address and the sender hadn't left a name. Shinichi didn't seem notice those things at the moment as he stared blankly at three words in the letter.

' _unmasking of KID'_

KID was going to reveal his identity?

 **X**

 **A/N: I don't think that there really is such a convention in the middle of August/September in New York City for movies and the ilk so let's just pretend that this is a really big convention in a really big exhibition hall that can fill like several thousand people, 'kay?**

 **As always, please do review and favourite + like if you enjoyed the chapter. Thanks!**

 **Have a nice day!**

 **-SilvCyanide**

 **P.S. The last chapter and epilogue is coming up tomorrow! Don't miss it!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes:** Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the final chapter of 'Behind The Scenes'! I will be replying to some reviews below the chapter so stay with me please. Don't miss the illusion!

 **Quote Of The Chapter:** Nothing this time :P

 **X**

Shinichi curled up on his tiny and scratchy couch, flipping the letter and ticket over and over in his hand. His mind was filled with tumultuous emotions and he didn't know what to feel. On one hand, he would be able to get a glimpse at the person behind the mask but on the other hand, it felt wrong, like a taboo. KID's identity had always seemed like a mirage, there but just out of reach, untouchable. Shinichi didn't know what to think.

 _And, I don't really want to find out if KID really is Kaito…_

He was afraid. Afraid that he would begin looking at Kaito differently if he turned out to be KID, he was afraid that Kaito would begin acting differently around himself if Shinichi knew he really was KID. He had really grown to treasure the friendship - and hopefully more - between them and didn't want it to be impacted by any revelations.

Standing up, he trudged off into his kitchen (that really couldn't be called a kitchen with how small it was) and fixed himself a cup of hot chocolate. Usually he would go with black coffee but this time he wanted something sweet and sugary, something that would sufficiently distract himself from the pieces of paper sitting innocuously on his desk.

He tried to convince himself that he really wasn't thinking of Kaito when drinking the hot chocolate.

(He failed.)

 **X**

The next few days was spent in a blur of motion. On Sunday, he was dragged by Kaito to one of the supermarkets to buy groceries ("Yes I know that you're only going to be here for two months but you can't survive for those two months on _just_ takeout!") and was currently trailing behind Kaito as he bounced around, trailing fingers over the packaging of the boxes and occasionally popping up with a question or two for Shinichi over some very generically shaped boxes that he had absolutely no idea over the identity of.

Shinichi fingered the ticket in his pocket whist staring fondly at Kaito chattering with one of the sales assistants (and suppressing the jealousy that bubbled up unbidden when he saw the girl blush and giggle at whatever Kaito had said) and cast his eyes over a box of fortune cookies. The kindly old lady with a face full of laugh lines who was promoting those cookies noticed him and smiled warmly, thrusting one of the fragile cookies in his hand. He tried to refuse but the woman was persistent and in the end Shinichi was left with a fortune cookies in one hand and Kaito's hand in the other as he was pulled to another small stand where they were promoting chocolates (as expected of Kaito's chocolate radar). As Kaito released his hand upon reaching the stand, Shinichi fiddled with the fortune cookie before snapping it cleanly in half and popping one half in his mouth while unravelling the paper strip…

...and promptly beginning to choke on the egg-flavoured bit of cookie in his throat that was presently trying to go down his windpipe and set up shop inside his lungs.

 _You already know the answer to the questions inside your head._

 _That_ was creepy. What were the chances that the paper slip inside a random fortune cookie from a random old woman in a random supermarket store promoting a random fortune cookie brand would give an answer very much related to what he was troubled over.

Turning back to look at the stand again, he hesitated slightly before walking over and picking up a box.

No reason not buying one, it tasted pretty good after all.

 **X**

From Monday through Friday, Shinichi spent his time traversing the whole of New York City just solving the movies and being chauffeured by the NYPD police officers to the crime scenes. There was a strange incident, however, that made him

unsure of his tentative decision to not attend the convention.

 _Shinichi crouched down beside the motionless and limp body of a preschool teacher, prodding at her wrist and frowning when he found wetness behind her ears. He flicked her hair away and inspected her ear. Foundation. That meant that combined with the strange black mark on her left forearm, the only one who could be the murderer would have to be the the father of one of the woman's students who was her previous ex. Wow, what a convoluted relationship._

 _Standing up, Shinichi relayed his theory to the officer standing at attention behind him, a clipboard and pen in his arms. The officer was staring at him with unconcealed admiration and awe, a face that Shinichi had seen on too many people but nonetheless still managed to make him feel uncomfortable. A few years ago he would have been delighted and puffed up like a peacock at the admiration and praise but a case that Shinichi had been completely unable to solve yet was easily cracked by a relatively unknown detective brought reality crashing down on him. He wasn't omnipotent, he didn't know everything and he had no right acting that arrogant._

 _A tap on his shoulder drew him from his reverie and he turned to see one of the suspects, a young woman with bright red eyes and hair an inky black. Without any forewarning, she smiled mysteriously and began muttering out something that sounded like a prophecy before walking away to join a hunched man dressed in a suit._

" _When the sixth of seven comes around, a step taken might result in a giant leap made. The masquerade of one ends with the revelation of another."_

Shinichi tried to ignore how that sounded so much like what he had been worrying about for the past week but it came back and stuck in his head like magic, tickling the back of his mind.

Well, it might not be so bad to finally relieve the curiosity. No matter the results.

 **X**

Shinichi grimaced as he avoided yet another cosplayer while Kaito laughed beside him. Here they were at this convention which Kaito had procured a ticket for himself for (Shinichi was almost confident he knew how) and Shinichi had to twist his body to avoid bumping into any sweaty, overeager people who were boisterously laughing and conversing. Opposed to how uncomfortable Shinichi felt being in such a crowded location, Kaito was the opposite, seeming at home in the crowded exhibition hall. He fluttered around easily despite being blind and unable to see anyone (which caused him to crash into more than just a few people) and he was waving his cane around like a parade baton.

 _Sometimes I swear he's a child in a man's body._

Shinichi thought fondly before redirecting his attention to the stage set up at one end of the hall. It had a singular table and chair right smack in the center and a microphone lay innocently on the white tablecloth. There were several security guards scattered around the stage and the area around the stage was cordoned off. There were plastic chairs set up in the pocket of space in front of the stage and excited, curious convention goers were crowded around the blocked off area, some even tried to sneak in.

Shinichi could hear people gushing about how they were _so eager to find out who KID was_ and _the tickets cost so much money to get_ and _it was so difficult to even get one of the tickets._ Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kaito frown slightly and a nervous expression come onto his face before it smoothed out.

Since there were a few hours before the meeting session with KID, they went to a small diner famous for their donburis and found a round table with two chairs in the corner. Throughout their meal, Kaito picked at his salad, then picked at his rice and finally, most worryingly, he picked at his cake. His _chocolate_ cake. Shinichi shot worried glances at Kaito, who never - and it was no exaggeration - left any chocolate substance untouched if he could help it. To have him unwilling to eat the cake brought a sense of unease to Shinichi, though he supposed he could guess why. He really didn't want to acknowledge it, despite how the clues screamed at him and he resolutely decided to believe that Kaito and KID were separate entities unless he was blatantly told otherwise, like how he would be at the convention.

 **X**

They were in the convention and seated down in the front row seats (or at least Shinichi was, he had seen Kaito sneak off and he pretended not to notice. The chattering of the people beside him filled his ears and invaded his mind, making him unable to think properly due to the squeals of the girls being detrimental to clear and proper thinking.

There was a loud tap from the stage and suddenly, everyone quieted down. There was a palpable tension and there was an air of expectancy. The eyes of everybody, both sitting down and crowding outside the cordoned off area were riveted on the stage. Shinichi guessed that it was because the time for the meet-and-greet had just arrived.

Footsteps sounded out from behind the black curtain at the back of the stage and everybody visibly held their breaths (were those girls turning blue? Shinichi hoped that they wouldn't die) as the curtain ruffled and a hand appeared, clutching onto one side of the curtain.

The curtain drew back slightly and a cane appeared. Shinichi felt his eyes widen and his heart rate speed up. That was Kaito's cane, which meant Kaito was KID and that Shinichi had been right after all.

The next thing that appeared was Kaito's shirt. He was wearing the exact same clothes as earlier and they looked ruffled and wrinkled after a long day. He stepped out fully, masquerade mask on and eyes visibly closed even under the mask. His cane tapped rhythmically on the wooden stage floorboards and Shinichi found himself giggling (the horror) internally at the shocked faces on the girls next to him as well as the others who looked like they were about to fall off their chairs.

Kaito - KID? - felt around and pulled out the chair, plopping down in it and setting aside his cane, propping it against the edge of the table. He picked up the microphone, tested it and spoke out hesitantly even as the crowd was still shell shocked.

"Hello everyone, my name is Kuroba Kaito although you all most probably know me as KID."

Just like that, it seemed as if a spell was broken and chattering erupted, the most prominent shouts were, "I don't believe it!", "Are you really blind?!" and "Show us your face!"

Kaito smiled faintly, looking smaller and more nervous than Shinichi had ever seen him look before. He reached up a hand and placed it on the edge of his mask and the crowd hushed once more. With a fluid motion that seemed unnecessarily dramatic, - well, that was in Shinichi's opinion at least - Kaito pulled the mask away from his face and the features that Shinichi had gotten to know so well came into view.

 _Well, if there was any doubt, it's all gone now._

 **X**

Shinichi trudged through the streets, the magazines and televisions all talking about how 'KID was Kuroba Kaito, an amateur actor.' and sighed slightly. Kaito had unexpectedly been avoiding him and Shinichi was very much done with it. Apparently (according to Hakuba who was now his informant on all things Kaito since Kaito was _avoiding him…_ ) Kaito had gotten into his head that Shinichi would begin to act differently around Kaito now that his identity had been revealed - that was a ridiculous notion, Shinichi loved him too much for that though Kaito didn't know that - and he didn't want to face Shinichi. Which led to where they were now.

Breathing out a breath of air, he watched it turn into glistening crystals. The air was freezing cold. Shinichi hurried into his apartment building and entered the elevator. The moment the elevator arrived on his floor, he was met with a sight he definitely didn't expect. Kuroba Kaito was currently standing looking adorably awkward - damn you hormones - outside his front door as if debating whether to keep waiting or just head off. Shinichi made that decision for him by calling his name softly.

"Kaito?"

Kaito's head turned towards him so fast, it looked like he gave himself a whiplash from the movement. Shinichi walked over, placing a hand on Kaito shoulder and feeling a stab of pain when Kaito flinched. Ignoring that, Shinichi unlocked the door and led Kaito in, locking the door before settling him on the couch. Kaito twiddled his thumbs and looking uncharacteristically shy.

"You know, I don't mind you being KID and not telling me or anything. I'm not going to ignore you just because of that."

A choked and startled gasp,

"W-what, how do you know that I was thinki-"

"Hakuba- _san_ told me."

"...Oh."

Shinichi frowned when Kaito stopped speaking and sat there silently without any response and felt an annoyance bubbling up in his chest. Their relationship would never proceed if he kept quiet. In a fit of courage, Shinichi leaned forward, pressed his lips to Kaito's - warm and soft and perfect - and felt Kaito struggle slightly before Kaito pressed back and Shinichi saw Kaito's face heat up and he _knew_ his own was doing the same. He pressed harder and tasted an interesting taste, vanilla and dark chocolate? That taste was interestingly good and he knew it was just _Kaito_.

When they broke away, Kaito was panting and Shinichi felt his own breath escape in whooshes. Kaito licked his lips and in a rough, hoarse voice - Shinichi felt his face redden even more at the low undertones - breathed out,

"Y-you...I...bu-but…"

Shinichi gently grasped Kaito's face between his hands and turned his head to face his own before intoning in a clear and serious voice full of emotion,

"I love you, Kaito."

Kaito's face rapidly heated up and he tried to turn his head away but Shinichi's hands kept his head there, warm and steady. He muttered out something in a low voice that had Shinichi grinning like an idiot and he pulled Kaito into his chest, burying his face in his hair. Kaito turned his face into Shinichi's shirt - smelled like pine and lemon - and spoke out something that was muffled by his shirt.

"Huh?"

"I said that I wished I could see. I want to be able to know what you look like, to have a face to that wonderful voice in my head…"

Shinichi smiled lovingly - Sonoko's eyes would positively pop out of their sockets at _that_ sight - and threaded his fingers through Kaito's hair.

"Well, I have short brown hair and blue eyes. My cheekbones are… higher than average and my skin tone is fairly pale. Does that help?"

"No…"

Though he said that, Kaito was smiling and he hugged Shinichi even harder.

"But that doesn't really matter in the end."

 **-END-**

 ***Omake***

"Shinichi, they're coming!"

"I know, Kaito, I know."

"What do I do? I can hear them screaming!"

"...Throw a cap on?"

"They know it's me!"

"...Why are they coming my way?"

"Oh God, Shinichi, run!"

"Kaito, they're just girls."

"No they're not, Shinichi, they're fangirls."

"What the heck, they took my scarf!"

"Shin-chan, run or they'll get you!"

"I'm going!"

And that was how Hakuba found one Kuroba Kaito and one Kudo Shinichi, hiding out in his house with all the security and trying not to gain the attention of KID's - or Kaito's now - fanbase.

 ***Omake End***

 **A/N: Woot woot, I finished the chapter and this story (did I say anything about an epilogue? I meant an omake *cough cough*) If there are any questions about the chapter or the story in general, just PM me. That poll up in my profile? Yep, it's closed now. There were only four votes *sad face* but three out of the four votes voted for 'That Which Binds Us' and that is what will be posted next! : Currently I have 6 prompts ready but I would like to request for y'all to suggest some other ideas on the new fic's review section that you want to hear. Thanks!**

 **Review Replies!**

 **oreioreo: Thanks for the compliment ^^ as you wished, the fic has been updated and completed!**

 **Lover Of Emotions: Thanks for the compliment!**

 **Yuukki: Haha, the moment of truth has appeared. Thanks for the review!**

 **Costell: Wow that is a great compliment for me who nobody really knows about. It means alot, thanks!**

 **10th Squad 3rd Seat: Nyahahaha, yep, Shinichi used the taboo word. Kaito would have a field day. And Kaito really likes overthinking things huh? Kaito really does love his chocolate, like really loves it. Even I don't like chocolate that much and that's saying something. I also love that pointing thingy Shin-chan does :3**

 **The Midnight Dream: Thanks for the review! Yep, Hakuba as a manager, it fit somehow in an ironic way and I couldn't think of anyone else for that role considering Kaito and Hakuba's relationship in canon.**

 **Guest: Thank you! It means so much that you loved it. There's no BO or syndicate in this story but Kaito's dad is still dead - sorry Toichi-san - and Kaito is blind not from any incident but because of a natural birth defect. Does that clear it all up?**

 **Hebiaczek: I'm glad that I brought to you what you were looking for :) Thanks for the review!**

 **Shana-Fujioka: Non non non, you must not sacrifice studies for reading badly written fanfic like mine. I did that and look at me now! Kaito's blindness is perfectly natural since I saw a fic that had a blind Shinichi but none of blind Kaito's so I wrote one. Also, I realise that I didn't clarify who wrote the note.**

 **Okay, so basically, Kaito wanted to invite Shinichi to this event which was the other reason Kaito was in New York and he read it out to Hakuba who wrote it down so… it's a team effort?**

 **JelpHasNails: Haha, Shinichi is a true grim reaper huh? It's true even in the canon. I'm happy to be able to bring you a fun read.**

 **neonkoi: *cough* I was hoping for someone to pick up on that reference *cough*. No monsieur/madame, don't die! The Black Org hasn't been defeated yet! Kaito hasn't found Pandora yet! Snake isn't in prison yet! You must live!**

 **Thanks for reading, have a nice day!**

 **-SilvCyanide**


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